The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Report has been issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, covering August. It wasn’t very pretty. The July openings number was revised up slightly, by about 25,000, and August rose slightly from that number, by about 20,000 openings. Those are very small changes, with the statistical margin of error, and they don’t suggest a particularly strong economy, or at least not one that is producing strong employer demand for workers. The good news is that all the openings growth was in the private sector and openings declined in government. Construction openings declined significantly, government-supported health care and leisure and travel related openings rose.
As with July, the number of unemployed workers is higher than the number of job openings, which again is an indicator of a weak labor market. Further weakness was shown by a reduced number of hires and of voluntary quits, which usually rise when people find it easier to get a new job. Hiring was notably reduced in trade and transportation. There is no sign of any surge in manufacturing openings or hires, so the tariffs are not accomplishing that goal. Separations were up in trade and transportation and leisure and hospitality. Total separations increased in government, another good sign from my perspective. (BLS Report)
A separate report released by BLS indicates why we have a dim future. 12% of the US workforce claims to have health condition or “difficulty” that makes it hard for them to work. This is in addition to the huge number of people in the US claiming to be disabled, often because they are anxious or depressed. We have gone from a near universal “work hard” culture to a slacker culture and it is worse among young people. (BLS Report)
